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Susan Ramirez

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About Susan Ramirez

  • Birthday 11/09/1956

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  1. I have often wondered about that date... hummm. I guess we will just have to wait and see. Gal 5:22, 23 Lord give me patience!
  2. Do you have a recording in Spanish? For my study who could not come... Thanks
  3. Not weak! I love the poetry. Just my style. Maybe I will post some of mine some time.
  4. Thanks for the note. I could go on and on and on, ... well, you know what I mean, about the questions I have about the past. But I am sure that they will just have to wait, as we will have much to do to prepare for our future in the paradise! We can do much now to get ready for that day. Thanks again!
  5. Exactly! The ankh was simply an ideogram that meant 'life' in Egyptian writing. It's like a ❤️️ - a universal ideogram for 'love.' It doesn't mean Hezekiah attached any idolatrous significance to it. Dear Sisters, At the risk of starting another firestorm, (which is not my intention), I would like to include some information about the crux ansata in this discussion. rs p. 89- p.93 Cross Definition: The device on which Jesus Christ was executed is referred to by most of Christendom as a cross. The expression is drawn from the Latin crux. Why do Watch Tower publications show Jesus on a stake with hands over his head instead of on the traditional cross? The Greek word rendered “cross” in many modern Bible versions (“torture stake” in NW) is stau·rosʹ. In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. The Imperial Bible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: “The Greek word for cross, [stau·rosʹ], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.”—Edited by P. Fairbairn (London, 1874), Vol. I, p. 376. Was that the case in connection with the execution of God’s Son? It is noteworthy that the Bible also uses the word xyʹlon to identify the device used. A Greek-English Lexicon, by Liddell and Scott, defines this as meaning: “Wood cut and ready for use, firewood, timber, etc. . . . piece of wood, log, beam, post . . . cudgel, club . . . stake on which criminals were impaled . . . of live wood, tree.” It also says “in NT, of the cross,” and cites Acts 5:30 and 10:39 as examples. (Oxford, 1968, pp. 1191, 1192) However, in those verses KJ, RS, JB, and Dy translate xyʹlon as “tree.” (Compare this rendering with Galatians 3:13;Deuteronomy 21:22, 23.) The book The Non-Christian Cross, by J. D. Parsons (London, 1896), says: “There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross. . . . It is not a little misleading upon the part of our teachers to translate the word stauros as ‘cross’ when rendering the Greek documents of the Church into our native tongue, and to support that action by putting ‘cross’ in our lexicons as the meaning of stauros without carefully explaining that that was at any rate not the primary meaning of the word in the days of the Apostles, did not become its primary signification till long afterwards, and became so then, if at all, only because, despite the absence of corroborative evidence, it was for some reason or other assumed that the particular stauros upon which Jesus was executed had that particular shape.”—Pp. 23, 24; see also The Companion Bible (London, 1885), Appendix No. 162. Thus the weight of the evidence indicates that Jesus died on an upright stake and not on the traditional cross. What were the historical origins of Christendom’s cross? “Various objects, dating from periods long anterior to the Christian era, have been found, marked with crosses of different designs, in almost every part of the old world. India, Syria, Persia and Egypt have all yielded numberless examples . . . The use of the cross as a religious symbol in pre-Christian times and among non-Christian peoples may probably be regarded as almost universal, and in very many cases it was connected with some form of nature worship.”—Encyclopædia Britannica (1946), Vol. 6, p. 753. “The shape of the [two-beamed cross] had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the 3rd cent. A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ.”—An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London, 1962), W. E. Vine, p. 256. “It is strange, yet unquestionably a fact, that in ages long before the birth of Christ, and since then in lands untouched by the teaching of the Church, the Cross has been used as a sacred symbol. . . . The Greek Bacchus, the Tyrian Tammuz, the Chaldean Bel, and the Norse Odin, were all symbolised to their votaries by a cruciform device.”—The Cross in Ritual, Architecture, and Art (London, 1900), G. S. Tyack, p. 1. “The cross in the form of the ‘Crux Ansata’ . . . was carried in the hands of the Egyptian priests and Pontiff kings as the symbol of their authority as priests of the Sun god and was called ‘the Sign of Life.’”—The Worship of the Dead (London, 1904), Colonel J. Garnier, p. 226. “Various figures of crosses are found everywhere on Egyptian monuments and tombs, and are considered by many authorities as symbolical either of the phallus [a representation of the male sex organ] or of coition. . . . In Egyptian tombs the cruxansata [cross with a circle or handle on top] is found side by side with the phallus.”—A Short History of Sex-Worship (London, 1940), H. Cutner, pp. 16, 17; see also The Non-Christian Cross, p. 183. “These crosses were used as symbols of the Babylonian sun-god, [See book], and are first seen on a coin of Julius Cæsar, 100-44 B.C., and then on a coin struck by Cæsar’s heir (Augustus), 20 B.C. On the coins of Constantine the most frequent symbol is [See book]; but the same symbol is used without the surrounding circle, and with the four equal arms vertical and horizontal; and this was the symbol specially venerated as the ‘Solar Wheel’. It should be stated that Constantine was a sun-god worshipper, and would not enter the ‘Church’ till some quarter of a century after the legend of his having seen such a cross in the heavens.”—The Companion Bible, Appendix No. 162; see also The Non-Christian Cross, pp. 133-141. Is veneration of the cross a Scriptural practice? 1 Cor. 10:14: “My beloved ones, flee from idolatry.” (An idol is an image or symbol that is an object of intense devotion, veneration, or worship.) Ex. 20:4, 5, JB: “You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.” (Notice that God commanded that his people not even make an image before which people would bow down.) Of interest is this comment in the New Catholic Encyclopedia: “The representation of Christ’s redemptive death on Golgotha does not occur in the symbolic art of the first Christian centuries. The early Christians, influenced by the Old Testament prohibition of graven images, were reluctant to depict even the instrument of the Lord’s Passion.”—(1967), Vol. IV, p. 486. Concerning first-century Christians, History of the Christian Church says: “There was no use of the crucifix and no material representation of the cross.”—(New York, 1897), J. F. Hurst, Vol. I, p. 366. Does it really make any difference if a person cherishes a cross, as long as he does not worship it? How would you feel if one of your dearest friends was executed on the basis of false charges? Would you make a replica of the instrument of execution? Would you cherish it, or would you rather shun it? In ancient Israel, unfaithful Jews wept over the death of the false god Tammuz. Jehovah spoke of what they were doing as being a ‘detestable thing.’ (Ezek. 8:13, 14) According to history, Tammuz was a Babylonian god, and the cross was used as his symbol. From its beginning in the days of Nimrod, Babylon was against Jehovah and an enemy of true worship. (Gen. 10:8-10; Jer. 50:29) So by cherishing the cross, a person is honoring a symbol of worship that is opposed to the true God. As stated at Ezekiel 8:17, apostate Jews also ‘thrust out the shoot to Jehovah’s nose.’ He viewed this as “detestable” and ‘offensive.’ Why? This “shoot,” some commentators explain, was a representation of the male sex organ, used in phallic worship. How, then, must Jehovah view the use of the cross, which, as we have seen, was anciently used as a symbol in phallic worship?" End of quotation. So dear sisters, let's be careful to keep our worship to Jehovah clean and free from any influence of pagan worship that is detestable to him. I hope you all agree. "One could even speculate that this was a letter asking Egypt to assist Hezekiah - because the surrounding countries and cities had already been invaded long before Sennacherib came to Jerusalem....... Hezekiah could have planned to sent out a secret message but decided to trash it and to trust only in Jehovah instead." Interesting argument. Very possible. Shall we go together to ask King Hezekiah, when he is resurrected? If you agree, its a date! I often wonder how much time will be spent on answering the questions of the resurrected ones vs answering the questions of those who have survived the battle of Armageddon???
  6. It may be, but like I said before, we will just have to ask King Hezekiah when he is resurrected, provided WE are resurrected. I did not mean to offend any one with my comments. I only wanted to suggest caution when referring to outside information. The website of the OP Video has links that deal with the occult and other god-dishonoring subjects. That was my main concern when I joined the discussion. So my final comment on this will be, “Let us pursue the things making for peace.”—ROM. 14:19.
  7. Hello Ann, I was not there, so I can't say what happened for sure. I guess we will have to wait for the resurrection and then we can ask King Hezekiah himself. Right? In the meantime, we can only rely on the information that the governing body has provided for us. I cut and pasted directly from JW ONLINE LIBRARY. I did highlight some of the pertinent information. W 10 7/15 pp. 12-15 "'Rabshakeh told Hezekiah’s representatives: “This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, has said: ‘What is this confidence in which you have trusted? . . . Look! you have put your trust in the support of this crushed reed, Egypt, which, if a man should brace himself upon it, would certainly enter into his palm and pierce it.’” (2 Ki. 18:19, 21) Rabshakeh’s accusation was false, for Hezekiah had not made an alliance with Egypt. Still, the accusation emphasized what Rabshakeh wanted the Jews to remember clearly: ‘No one will come to your aid. You are on your own—isolated.’" Also, remember that Eliakim, Shebna and Joah were told not to reply to the Rabshekah at all. "But they kept silent and did not say a word to him in reply, for the order of the king was, “You must not answer him.” But E·liʹa·kim son of Hil·kiʹah, who was in charge of the household, Shebʹna the secretary, and Joʹah son of Aʹsaph the recorder came to Hez·e·kiʹah with their garments ripped apart and told him the words of the Rabʹsha·keh. (2 Ki. 36:21, 22) So perhaps that is why his claims were not refuted." it-2 893-895 Sennacherib SENNACHERIB "(Sen·nachʹer·ib) [from Akkadian, meaning “Sin [the moon-god] Has Restored the Brothers to Me”]. Son of Sargon II; king of Assyria. He inherited from his father an empire of great strength but was obliged to spend most of his reign subduing revolts, particularly as regards the city of Babylon. Sennacherib appears to have been serving as a governor or general in the northern region of Assyria during his father’s reign. After his succession to the throne, this region evidently caused him little trouble, his difficulties coming chiefly from the S and the W. The Chaldean Merodach-baladan (Isa 39:1) abandoned his refuge in Elam, into which Sennacherib’s father Sargon had driven him, and now proclaimed himself king of Babylon. Sennacherib marched against him and his Elamite allies, defeating them at Kish. Merodach-baladan, however, escaped, going into hiding for another three years. Sennacherib entered Babylon and set Bel-ibni on the throne as viceroy. Other punitive expeditions were thereafter effected to keep in check the peoples in the hill countries surrounding Assyria. Then, in what Sennacherib refers to as his “third campaign,” he moved against “Hatti,” a term evidently referring at that time to Phoenicia and Palestine. (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, edited by J. Pritchard, 1974, p. 287) This area was in a state of general rebellion against the Assyrian yoke. Among those who had rejected such domination was King Hezekiah of Judah (2Ki 18:7), though there is no evidence to show that he was in coalition with the other kingdoms in revolt. In Hezekiah’s 14th year (732 B.C.E.) Sennacherib’s forces swept westward, capturing Sidon, Achzib, Acco, and other cities on the Phoenician coast, and then they headed south. Frightened kingdoms, including those of Moab, Edom, and Ashdod, are listed as now sending out tribute to express submission. Recalcitrant Ashkelon was taken by force along with the nearby towns of Joppa and Beth-dagon. An Assyrian inscription accuses the people and nobles of the Philistine city of Ekron of having handed their king Padi over to Hezekiah, who, according to Sennacherib, “held him in prison, unlawfully.” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 287; compare 2Ki 18:8.) The inhabitants of Ekron are described as having petitioned Egypt and Ethiopia for help to stave off or thwart the Assyrian attack." (See Ekron below) "The Bible record indicates that at about this point Sennacherib attacked Judah, laying siege to and capturing many of its fortified cities and towns. Hezekiah now sent word to the Assyrian at Lachish offering to pay the sum of tribute Sennacherib might impose. (2Ki 18:13, 14) Sennacherib’s capture of Lachish is presented in a frieze showing him seated on a throne before the vanquished city, accepting the spoils of that city brought to him while some of the captives are being tortured. The Bible account does not indicate whether King Padi, if in reality a captive of Hezekiah, was now released, but it does show that Hezekiah paid the tribute demanded by Sennacherib of 300 silver talents (c. $1,982,000) and 30 gold talents (c. $11,560,000). (2Ki 18:14-16) Now, however, Sennacherib sent a committee of three officers to call upon the king and people of Jerusalem to make a capitulation to him and, eventually, submit to being sent off into exile. The Assyrian message was particularly disdainful of Hezekiah’s reliance on Jehovah. Through his spokesman, Sennacherib boasted that Jehovah would prove to be as impotent as were the gods of the lands that had already fallen before the Assyrian might.—2Ki 18:17-35. The Assyrian committee returned to Sennacherib, who was now fighting against Libnah, as it was being heard “respecting Tirhakah the king of Ethiopia: ‘Here he has come out to fight against you.’” (2Ki 19:8, 9) Sennacherib’s inscriptions speak of a battle at Eltekeh (c. 15 km [9.5 mi] NNW of Ekron) in which he claims to have defeated an Egyptian army and the forces of “the king of Ethiopia.” He then describes his conquest of Ekron and his restoration of the freed Padi to the throne there.—Ancient Near Eastern Texts, pp. 287, 288. Jehovah Defeats Sennacherib’s Army. As for Jerusalem, though Sennacherib sent threatening letters warning Hezekiah that he had not desisted from his determination to take the Judean capital (Isa 37:9-20), the record shows that the Assyrians did not so much as “shoot an arrow there, . . . nor cast up a siege rampart against it.” Jehovah, whom Sennacherib had taunted, sent out an angel who, in one night, struck down “a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians,” sending Sennacherib back “with shame of face to his own land.”—Isa 37:33-37; 2Ch 32:21. Sennacherib’s inscriptions make no mention of the disaster suffered by his forces. But, as Professor Jack Finegan comments: “In view of the general note of boasting which pervades the inscriptions of the Assyrian kings, . . . it is hardly to be expected that Sennacherib would record such a defeat.” (Light From the Ancient Past, 1959, p. 213) It is interesting, nevertheless, to note the version that Sennacherib presents of the matter, as found inscribed on what is known as the Sennacherib Prism preserved in the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. In part he says: “As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts and to the countless small villages in their vicinity, and conquered (them) by means of well-stamped (earth-)ramps, and battering-rams brought (thus) near (to the walls) (combined with) the attack by foot soldiers, (using) mines, breaches as well as sapper work. I drove out (of them) 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting, and considered (them) booty. Himself [Hezekiah] I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage. . . . His towns which I had plundered, I took away from his country and gave them (over) to Mitinti, king of Ashdod, Padi, king of Ekron, and Sillibel, king of Gaza. . . . Hezekiah himself . . . did send me, later, to Nineveh, my lordly city, together with 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver, precious stones, antimony, large cuts of red stone, couches (inlaid) with ivory, nimedu -chairs (inlaid) with ivory, elephant-hides, ebony-wood, boxwood (and) all kinds of valuable treasures, his (own) daughters, concubines, male and female musicians. In order to deliver the tribute and to do obeisance as a slave he sent his (personal) messenger.”—Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 288. This boastful version inflates the number of silver talents sent from 300 to 800, and doubtless it does so with other details of the tribute paid; but in other regards it remarkably confirms the Bible record and shows that Sennacherib made no claim that he captured Jerusalem. It should be noted, however, that Sennacherib presents the matter of Hezekiah’s paying tribute as having come after the Assyrian’s threat of a siege against Jerusalem, whereas the Bible account shows it was paid before. As to the likely reason for this inversion of matters, note the observation made in Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Bible Dictionary (1936, p. 829): “The close of this campaign of S[ennacherib] is veiled in obscurity. What he did after the capture of Ekron . . . is still a mystery. In his annals, S[ennacherib] locates at this point his punishment of Hezekiah, his raiding of the country of Judah, and his disposition of the territory and cities of Judah. This order of events looks like a screen to cover up something which he does not wish to mention.” The Bible record shows that Sennacherib hurried back to Nineveh after the divinely wrought disaster to his troops, and so Sennacherib’s inverted account conveniently has Hezekiah’s tribute being paid to him through a special messenger at Nineveh. It is certainly significant that ancient inscriptions and records show no further campaign by Sennacherib to Palestine, although historians claim that his reign continued for another 20 years. The Jewish historian of the first century C.E., Josephus, claims to quote the Babylonian Berossus (considered to be of the third century B.C.E.) as recording the event thus: “When Senacheirimos returned to Jerusalem from his war with Egypt, he found there the force under Rapsakes in danger from a plague, for God had visited a pestilential sickness upon his army, and on the first night of the siege one hundred and eighty-five thousand men had perished with their commanders and officers.” (Jewish Antiquities, X, 21 [i, 5]) Some commentators attempt to explain the disaster by referring to an account written by Herodotus (II, 141) in the fifth century B.C.E. in which he claims that “one night a multitude of fieldmice swarmed over the Assyrian camp and devoured their quivers and their bows and the handles of their shields,” thus leaving them unable to carry out an invasion of Egypt. This account obviously does not coincide with the Biblical record, nor does Herodotus’ description of the Assyrian campaign harmonize with the Assyrian inscriptions. Nevertheless, the accounts by Berossus and Herodotus do reflect the fact that Sennacherib’s forces met up with sudden and calamitous difficulty in this campaign. Sennacherib’s troubles had not ended, however, and following his return to Assyria he had to quell another revolt in Babylon, provoked by Merodach-baladan. This time Sennacherib placed his own son, Ashurnadinshumi, as king in Babylon. Six years later Sennacherib embarked on a campaign against the Elamites, but they soon retaliated by invading Mesopotamia. They captured Ashurnadinshumi and placed their own king on the throne of Babylon. Several years of struggle for control of the region followed, until finally the enraged Sennacherib took vengeance on Babylon by leveling it to the ground, an unparalleled act in view of Babylon’s position as the “Holy City” of all Mesopotamia. The remaining years of Sennacherib’s reign were apparently without major incident. Sennacherib’s death is considered to have come some 20 years after his campaign against Jerusalem. This figure is dependent on Assyrian and Babylonian records, their reliability being subject to question. At any rate, it should be noted that the Bible account does not state that Sennacherib’s death occurred immediately upon his return to Nineveh. “Later on he entered the house of his god” Nisroch, and his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, “struck him down with the sword,” escaping to the land of Ararat. (2Ch 32:21;Isa 37:37, 38) An inscription of his son and successor, Esar-haddon, confirms this.—Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, by D. Luckenbill, 1927, Vol. II, pp. 200, 201; see ESAR-HADDON." it-1 pp. 700-701 Ekron EKRON "(Ekʹron). A leading Philistine city, apparently the northernmost seat of one of their five axis lords. (Jos 13:3) Its exact position is uncertain, but it is generally identified with Khirbet el-Muqannaʽ (Tel Miqne), about 18 km (11 mi) E of Ashdod. Recent excavation there has unearthed the largest city of its period and gives it current preference as the site of Ekron. Ekron’s history is one of constantly changing domination. Joshua’s conquest did not include Ekron. It was not until later that the Judeans captured it. (Jos 13:2, 3; Jg 1:18) In the initial division of the Promised Land, Ekron was on the border between Judah and Dan but within the tribe of Judah. (Jos 15:1, 11, 45, 46; 19:40-43) By the time the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant, Ekron was back in their possession. The presence of the Ark caused “a death-dealing confusion” to break out in this city, and it was from Ekron that the Ark was finally sent back to the Jews. (1Sa 5:10-12; 6:16, 17) After another period under Israelite control, the Philistines apparently again had Ekron at the time David slew Goliath. (1Sa 7:14; 17:52) It was in the early tenth century B.C.E. that Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt claimed to have taken Ekron. Some two centuries later, according to Sennacherib’s annals, Ekron’s King Padi was loyal to the Assyrians."
  8. Dear Ann, Please check out this info on JW.org. It appears that Hezekiah did not make an alliance with Egypt. If you can find something else that confirms he did, please post it here. Thanks http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0/21655 http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/lv/r1/lp-e/0/195 Dear Queen Esther, I always enjoy your contributions and pictures of our brothers around the world. It helps me to see that we are all united and doing the same work to Jehovah's praise. Thank You! The author or presenter of the video in question however, is not one of our brothers and so we should be very cautious. Newer ones or weaker ones might be tempted to check out additional videos on their site. Since they are not worshipers of the only true God Jehovah, this might undermine their faith. The governing body is very careful to do their due diligence on any outside information they quote from in the publications and that would be the best example to follow. I hope you agree...
  9. Queen Esther, I have one question. Why would King Hezekiah have a pagan symbol like the ank on his official seal? He was so firm for true religion, tearing down pagan religious idols on several occasions. Also, we just learned from our midweek meeting that he did not form an alliance with Egypt. The information in the video may not be correct. Might want to be careful what is posted here as others might take it for fact, when it may not be. Just a suggestion.... *** it-1 p. 1103 Hezekiah *** Hezekiah set the example by crushing to pieces the copper serpent that Moses had made, because the people had made it an idol, burning sacrificial smoke to it. (2Ki 18:4)
  10. Hello All, I was just wondering if anyone knows what the demographics of Jehovah's Witnesses nationwide and worldwide are? Not how many JW's there are compared to non JW's. We have that on the website. I was thinking more like what is the ratio of adults to teenagers/children. Here in our Circuit in Southern California, we see very few children and/or teenagers at our assemblies and conventions. It seems that the average age of most of the brothers and sisters that we see is between 50 and 70. Is that true in other places in the US or in the world? I would think that the GB has all this information, but I doubt they would release it. I'm just curious to see if young people are still accepting the truth at the same rate as before or if the pull of this wicked world is causing fewer and fewer to make the truth their own. All comments welcome!
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